[jamato8]

 
with the amp having arrived, awaiting the balanced dac. 
 
The amp has a voltage swing of 25.2 volts and takes single ended or balanced input for an output of balanced or single ended. It has a gain of 6db or 15db in balanced and starts at 0 in single ended.  Size of both units is 82mm by 55mm by 25mm. 
 
The balanced dac is the same size as the amp and takes USB, optical and coaxial input, putting out balanced only. 
 
The balanced connectors used are the Japanese made Hirose HR10A-7P-6P for the male jack and the HR10A-7R-6S for the female balanced jack. 
 
Price for the Toucan, $229. 
 
 
 

 

 

 
Images from the iBasso web site. 
 
The best optical cable I know of: http://www.sysconcept.ca/product_info.php?products_id=365
 

 

 

 

 

[MrProggie]

Named after a bird specie and a snake specie? Interesting. Got photos?

 

[Xan7hos]

about time we saw more balanced portables

 

[qusp]

and one that uses a half decent balanced connector

 

[Xan7hos]

aww shucks we need more info jamato!

 

[jamato8]

Wiring pattern for the male and female plug:
 

 

[LingLing1337]

New iBasso units.

 

[Xan7hos]

any updates?

 

[jamato8]

The price is going to be $229.00 for the amp.  For a balanced portabe amp that is a pretty good price. It will have a new case that will be one of the highest quality cases iBasso has produced, totally custom. 

 

[ElWappo]

Quote:

The price is going to be $229.00 for the amp.  For a balanced portabe amp that is a pretty good price. It will have a new case that will be one of the highest quality cases iBasso has produced, totally custom. 

Jamoto8,
 
I've been close to pulling the trigger on the Protector, but now I'm very excited to hear about a near-term portable balanced DAC to supply a matching balanced amp.
 
Can you reveal if the custom case will be designed to store both the Boomslang and Toucan together, or will each come with its own separate case? 
 
Likewise, will the DAC be USB powered only, or will it have the option to run off a battery only for use with a non-powered USB port?
 
Will the Boomslang and Toucan both be available for purchase at the same time?
 
Edit: I found a pic!

 

[hvu]

Just for reference that picture is from January of this year and I would presume they would have done some improvement or modifications to the amp/dac by now so it my no longer look like that.

 

[MrProggie]

I will look into the reviews the balanced amp will get even though I am still waiting for the slim Arrow.
It will be exciting to see if it is able to compete with The RSA Protector on sound quality.
 
Edit: I can see one problem with using the amp directly with mp3 players:  Do you need a transformer of some sort to convert an ordinary line out to XLR signal?

 

[wuwhere]

Guess iBasso is a little behind. They planned for the end of last month. Can't wait for these pair to be available. New portable amps are coming out priced very reasonably. I'm also waiting for the V2 Arrow, my V1 Arrow is really good too.

 

[usf09]

So if I was planning on a D4 Mamba, I should hold off to see how this one sounds first? I don't have balanced IEMs yet, but I could always just plan for the future...

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

So if I was planning on a D4 Mamba, I should hold off to see how this one sounds first? I don't have balanced IEMs yet, but I could always just plan for the future...

The D4 is a DAC & amp combo in one unit. These two are separate units, an amp and a DAC.